Saudi Pro League: Ronaldo, Felix and Coman shine as Al Nassr beat Al Fateh to retain top spot

A screamer from Cristiano Ronaldo, a hat-trick from Joao Felix and a penalty miss from Ronaldo – it’s safe to say the Al Nassr faithful at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium witnessed a rollercoaster ride of emotions as they saw their team thrash Al Fateh 5-1 on Sunday.

The win strengthened Al Nassr’s position at the top of the table, with Jorge Jesus’ men extending their lead to four points. They maintain their perfect start to the season with 15 points in five games.

It was a game of two halves, with the first proving frustrating for Al Nassr. Despite Felix’s excellent finish with an outside-of-the-box curler that put Al Nassr ahead in the 13th minute, the team failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunities and extend the lead.

A penalty denied to Ronaldo late in the first half only added to the frustration as the referee blew the whistle for half-time.

In the second half, Al Nassr seemed bitten by the age-old bug of complacency, leaving large holes in the defense for Al Fateh to exploit. In the 54th minute, the visitor finally broke Al Nassr’s high line and grabbed the equalizer.

AS IT HAPPENED: NAS VS VET HIGHLIGHTS

Karl Toko Ekambi timed his run to perfection to stay onside and chase down an over-the-top ball. He pushed his way into the box and went for the shot, but Nawaf Alaqidi, who had run off his line, rose to make the save. However, he could not prevent the rebound as the ball reached Sofiane Bendebka, who made no mistake in sliding the ball into the goal to level the match.

Five minutes later, Al Nassr had a golden opportunity to regain the lead after a VAR check confirmed a handball violation inside the penalty area for Al Fateh.

The ever-familiar figure of Ronaldo stood over the ball and, after his trademark run-up, chose the goalkeeper’s left side. Amin Bukhari guessed correctly and got a firm touch to send the ball to safety.

A missed penalty can take a mental toll on most players, but Ronaldo showed why he is known as a mentality monster. Two minutes after his penalty was saved, he rattled the net with a rocket of a strike to put his team ahead again.

After receiving the ball from Mane on the left side of Al Fateh’s penalty area, Ronaldo intervened with a few stepovers and then let the ball fly towards the far corner. The connection was excellent and the ball clattered into the top right corner of the net, leaving a sprawling Bukhari with absolutely no chance of being touched.

That goal seemed to open the floodgates for Jorge Jesus’ men, and the attack began.

In the 68th minute, Ronaldo and Felix combined, and the latter made a great run into the final third, showing brilliant footwork to clear a few challenges and force his way inside. He still had a lot to do as the angle wasn’t ideal for a shot, but with exemplary technique Felix opened the front of his boot to place the ball towards the far corner.

Despite a two-goal lead, Al Nassr did not take their foot off the pedal and looked for more goals. It was rewarded for its efforts in the 75th minute when Kingsley Coman got on the end of Angelo Gabriel’s cut-back from the left and fired the ball into the bottom right corner for his team’s fourth of the match.

Felix, undoubtedly Al Nassr’s best player of the evening, capped his brilliant performance with a hat-trick in the 79th minute. Mane’s shot was cleared off the line, but the ball found Felix, who had the easiest finish.

Al Nassr next travels to India for their AFC Champions League Two match against FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on October 22.

Published on October 19, 2025